2006 Asia Pacific Week

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand Summer School

 

This year’s Summer School was held at ANU from 29 January – 2 February, as part of the ANU’s third Asia Pacific Week.  Other groups represented included Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, the South Pacific, Timor Leste, South Asia and Pacific Heritage. 

The major change on this occasion was to expand the coverage from Thailand to include Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.  This worked well, and we expect the arrangement to continue in the future.  We had 20 presentations by post graduates (fourteen students from outside Canberra), across a diverse range of subjects – nine on Thailand, five on Myanmar, three on Cambodia, two on Laos and one that covered both Thailand and Myanmar.   Presenters send their papers in advance, so that academic specialists could prepare detailed comments.

We invited an academic from Yangon University to give the opening lecture, but contrary to initial expectations, permission for their attendance was not granted by the Myanmar Ministry of Education.  At short notice, Dr Pamela Gutman, a specialist on early Burmese history affiliated to Sydney University, and an ANU graduate, stepped in and provided an enlightening presentation on research challenges in Myanmar.  

The major public address was given by Professor Martin Stuart-Fox of Queensland University on “Buddhism and politics in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand”.  Attendance exceeded expectations, with around 70 squeezing into a room that was too small for such an event. 

Professor Des Ball, From ANU’s Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, also spoke to the summer school on “Security developments in the Thailand – Burma borderlands”.

In the past we have used the summer school as an opportunity to invite academics in Thai studies from around Australia (five interstate academics participated in 2005). With very tight finances this year we had to confine ourselves to Dr Gutman and Professor Stuart-Fox.  Dr Milton Osborne also spent an afternoon at the summer school while visiting Canberra on other matters, providing a welcome addition of expertise on Cambodia. 

In response to feedback last year we re-introduced a workshop on planning a research topic, conducting fieldwork and writing up research, led by Dr Craig Reynolds from the ANU’s Faculty of Asian Studies.  (We included this in 2004, but left it out of the program in 2005.)  This was enthusiastically received by participants, who indeed urged even more presentations by academics.

An additional event this year was a display of original Thai paintings with traditional and Buddhist themes, by Canberra-resident Thai artist Prempriya Plengratana Dalvit.  This was held in Photospace, upstairs at the School of Art.  The opening was performed by Professor David Williams, Director, School of Art, and was subsequently written up in the Canberra Times. 

The summer school was supported by the Royal Thai Embassy and the Embassy of the Lao P.D.R. Both Ambassadors made opening remarks at the start of the summer school, after the formal opening by the NTSC Chairman, The Hon David Jull, MP.  As in previous years the Royal Thai Embassy generously hosted a dinner for participants – an event that continues to be a social high point for the summer school.

All participants were saddened to learn two weeks later of the death of Khun Dararat Kaewkuntee, due to a brain haemorrhage.  A PhD student from the University of Sydney, Khun Dararat gave an excellent presentation on the Tsunami, and was clearly an exceptional scholar.  Everyone associated with the summer school extends their deepest condolences to her family and friends.

Co-convenors:  John Funston (Executive Director, National Thai Studies Centre) and Trevor Wilson (former Australian Ambassador to Myanmar, and Visiting Fellow in the ANU’s Department of Political and Social Change). 

 

The paper delivered by Professor Martin Stuart-Fox is available here.